Shipping jacket for ice cream



W. F. CRAWFORD SHIPPING JACKET FOR ICE CREAM Filed June 16, 1931 A 3 9 1 6, h C Y. Ma

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. F. CRAWFORD SHIPPING JACKET FOR ICE CREAM Filed June 16. 1931 fan.

Patented Mar. 6, 1934 x UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFicE This invention relates to shippin Jackets. especially adapted for use in connection with the transportation of ice cream.

During the last few years, ice cream can packcrs have been the subject of much attention in an effort to provide an effective and easily operated closure and one which will stand the abuse to which articles of this kind are known to be subjected.

Particularly, the closure of one well known style of packer embodies a number of overlapping flaps held in placeby a plurality of fastening straps and buckles and, of course, when the flaps are indiiferently secured in place, as is many times the case, on1y an ineffective seal is provided allowing of the dissipation of the initially low temperatures within the jacket and the consequent deterioration of the ice cream. The fastening of the straps in a multi-flap jacket is a time-consuming and tedious task that is neglected or is improperly performed by many of those entrusted with the handling of these jackets and further the presence of a number of flaps and straps interferes withthe expeditious placing of ice cream cans withinthe jackets and later removing the same therefrom, all of which detracts from the desirabillty'of a many-flap jacket.

With an appreciation of the foregoing disadvantages accompanyingv the use of a'many-flap jacket in which the flaps are held in place by sep'- arate fastening straps and buckles; and further;

" thereof may be secured in place over a can of ice cream or the like by the simple manual advancement of.- a vsingle member in the nature of a slider associated with a pair of rows of cooperating fastening devices, and by the same token it is clear that to release thelid'it is merely necessary to retract the single'fslider to disengage the cream or the like and, as shown in Figure 3, the

cooperating fastening. devices after which the closure may be easily swung to anvout-offthe-Way position for'fully opening the mouth of the jacket and allowing the removal of the ice cream with facility.

Also, an. ice cream can jacket constructed in accordance with this invention will be found to embody simple means by which the inter-engagement of the rows of cooperating fasteners carried by the closure and the adjacent portion of the body of the jacket will bring about the radial and longitudinal contraction of the upper portion of the body of the jacket from the other side thereof into effective sealing contact with a depending plug carried by the closure, with the result that the free passage of air between the closure andthe adjacent portion of the jacket is inhibited and in this manner the original low temperature of the ice cream or the like within the jacket may be maintained for a long period, it being explained in this connection that imperfect closures or improperly adjusted closures are recognized as the principal sources of low temperature losses in ice cream can jackets.

A further and equally important object of the invention is to provide an ice cream can jacket which is of highly simplified construction, rugged and comparatively cheap to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description. In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a perspective of theimproved shipping jacket with the lid thereof lin closed position,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective of the jacket with the lid thereof in open position,

Figure 3 is a detail longitudinal vertical sectional' view through the upper portion of the jacket with the lid in closed position,

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view through the upperportion of the body of the jacket, the lid being 'partly open,

Figure 5 lis a perspective illustrating a slight modification ofthe invention,

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the jacket shown in Figure 5, parts being broken away,

Figure 'l is a vertical transverse sectional View through the jacket shown in Figures 5 and 6, the lid of the jacket being shown in open position.

In the drawings and more particularly Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the numeral 5 designates the body of the improved shipping jacket for ice body consists of inner and outer flexible walls of canvas or other suitable material between which there is a layer of insulation such as horsehair or felt. If desired, the layers of canvas and insulation may be stitched together as shown to hold the insulation in place. The body 5 is shown to be of tubular form for the reception of a can of ice cream or the like and has the bottom thereof permanently closed, while the upper end or mouth of the jacket is adapted to be closed by a lid 6. Of course, the lid may be of the same laminated form as the body and both of these parts are, by preference, flexible although, if desired, the body may be provided with internal stiienlng or a liner may be detachably arranged within the body for stiffening purposes and at the same time to prevent the ice cream cans from depositing grease and the like on the inside wall of the jacket.

More specifically, the upper portion of the tubular and flexible body 5 is provided with a circumferential row of stitching 8 defining a rib about the mouth of the jacket and, as shown in Figure 4, the rib has a thickness slightly greater than the thickness of the wall of the major portion of the body.

Figure 2 illustrates that the lid 6 is permanently secured at one side thereof by stitching 10 or other means to the upper edge of the rib 9 and is provided on the nether side thereof with a plug 12 adapted to be snugly received in the upper portion or mouth of the jacket and surrounded closely by the bead 9. Incidentally, the plug 12 may be in the nature of an integral depending portion of the lid 6 or it may be rigidly and permanently secured thereto by stitching or other means after being separately made, this detail forming no special part of the invention.

As might be otherwise expressed, the lid 6 has the peripheral portion thereof rabbeted to define the depending plug 12 and a marginal flange 14 and it is vthis marginal flange that is permanently secured to the upper edge of the bead 9 by the suitably stout stitching 10 or other suitable hinge means. Also, it is the peripheral or marginal flange 14 to which the upper row of fastening devices 16 is secured by stitching or other suitable means. As shown in Figure 3, the tape carrying the fastening devices 16 may be secured between the edge portions of the material forming the outer and inner walls ofthe lid 6.

The fastening devices 16 are constructed and arranged for cooperation with a lower row of fastening devices 18. As shown in Figures 2 and 3. the lower row of fastening devices 18 are mounted on a tape stitched or otherwise permanently secured to the bead 9. A conventional or other slider 20 may be run along the cooperating rows 16 and 18 of fastening devices to interlock such devices and thereby secure the lid in the position shown in Figure 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the cooperating rows of fastening devices 16 and 18 extend about the major portion of the circumference of the jacket and when interlocked in the manner shown in Figure 3 have a tendency to diminish the radial dimension of the rib 9 and thereby contract or compress this rib radially-into firm pressure contact with the depending plug 12. That is to say, when the rows of cooperating 'fastening devices 16 and 18 are drawn together and interlocked,-

the attaching tapes thereof are drawn taut and this will cause the fastening devices 16 and 18 and the tapes thereof to exert an inward radial pressure or squeezing pressure on the initially bulged rib 9, in consequence of which the rib is moved into uniform pressure contact with the depending plug 12. When the rib 9 is thus forced into pressure contact with the depending plug 12, a substantially fluid tight contact is established between these parts to prevent the loss of the initially low temperature within the jacket. It might be noted the plug 12 has a depth greater than the height of the rib and so that the plug is caused to extend below the rib and in this manner the fluid tight connection between these parts is aided.

As shown in Figure 1i, a shipping jacket constructed in accordance with this invention has a generous area of contact between the body 5 and the lid 6. Particularly, a generous area of contact is provided between the rib 9 and the outer wall of the plug 12 and between the rib 9 and the marginal flange 14 and the maintenance of this generous area of contact through the employment of the cooperating rows of fastening devices has the effect of protecting the originally low temperature within the 'jacket against a much higher outside temperature.

When the rows of fastening devices 16 and 18 are brought into interlocking relation as shown in Figure 3, the marginal flange 14 is drawn down into pressure contact with the rib 9 so that the rib tends to spread and since it is prevented from spreading outward by the surrounding tapes of the fastening devices it is forced inward into pressure contact with the wall of the depending plug 12.

In other words, the rib 9 is subjected to radially inward or squeezing or longitudinally acting compressing forces by which there is established an effective seal between the plug 12 and the surrounding rim 9 on one hand and the marginal portion 14 and the bead 9 on the other.

Thus, concerted downward and inward forces act against the bead 9 to establish a fluid tight joint between the bead and the lid 6. 'I'he nonrigid formation of thebody of the jacket and the lid lends itself readily to a uniform pressure contact between the bead 9 and the contiguous portions of the lid 6.

Of course. to create the desired pressure convtact between the rib 9 'and the contiguous portions of the lid, it is necessary that there be a gap between the fastening devices when these parts are disengaged, so that the advancement of the slider 20 will draw the fastening devices and the tapes thereof together under tension, which tension will bring the marginal flange 14 down into compressing contact with the rib and at the same time bring about a pressure relation between the rib 9 and the depending plug 12.

In carrying out the invention, suitable means such, for example, as a handle 26 may be secured to the body 5 to provide a convenient means for handling the jacket.

It has been found that a shipping jacket or packer constructed along the lines shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive allows of the ready introduction of a can of ice cream or the like into the body 5 since. when the lid is in the open position, it is entirely out of the way. A one-piece lid, as distinguished from a multi-flap closure with the many straps and buckles of the latter. may be quickly secured in a closed position by the .simple'manipulation of the slider 20. Since the rows of cooperating fastening devices 16 and 18 may be interlocked by a single operation or movement of the slider 20, considerable time is saved and the intimate connection and association of the parts is such that the possibility of the early loss of the low temperature within the jacket is reduced to a minimum.

The most indifferent or careless operation of the slider 20 is sufficient to bring about a perfect interlocking of the rows of cooperating fastening devices 16 and 18 and this has been found to be quite an advantage over a packer employing a multiplicity of flaps with straps and buckles to hold the flaps in closed position because, in many cases, the flaps are not properly secured in place due to the indifference of the persons handling the jacket.

For example, in many multi-flap jackets some of the straps, on occasions, are through carelessness left entirely unbuckled while others are left so loose that an imperfect seal is provided between the flaps and the body of the jacket allowing of the early dissipation of the low tempera.- ture originally in the jacket.

It happens that ice cream packers are subjected to considerable abuse. Packers are thrown onto and off trucks and in many cases are run over by trucks and it has been found that packers equipped with a closure as shown in this application stand up remarkably well under this abuse.

Experimental packers equipped with the cooperating fastening devices 16 and 18 have been run over repeatedly by heavy delivery trucks and were unimpaired thereby. This is probably due to the fact that the fastening devices 16 and 18 are in the nature of short fingers more or less loosely but at the same time effectively inter'- locked producing a iexible fastener which yields under pressure such as is encountered when the packer is run over by a truck.

In practice, the slider 20 may be provided with a manipulating handle 30 having a suitable opening for the reception of the fastening element of a padlock or other means by which the slider 20 may be secured in the position shown in Figure 1. Forv example, the fastening wire of a seal may be extended through the opening of the handle 30 to hold the slider 20 in the closed position and at the same time to provide for the ready detection of unauthorized efforts to open the container, this, of course, being entirely optional.

The form of invention illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 is designed for the accommodation of a plurality of cans of ice cream and although the drawings show a three-compartment arrangement it is understood that the invention may be applied to a `iacket of any number of compartments.

The body of the shipper shown in Figs. 5, -6 and 7 is designated by the numeral 40 and may, of course, be made up of inner and outer layers of canvas or the like spaced by an intervening layer of iiexible insulating material such as horse hair or felt and these layers may be joined by rows of longitudinal and transverse stitching or any other means to hold the same against shifting', one with respect to the other.

The body 40 is of elongated form and is provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced transverse. partitions 42 defining individual compartments' for the reception of cans of ice cream.

It is clearly illustrated in Figure 7 that the upper portion of the body 40 is formed with a bead 44 and it is along one side of the bead that the plugs'46 for the various compartments are attached. More specifically. the plugs 46 are hinged by stitching or other suitable means to the upper edge of one side of the bead 44 and these plugs are adapted to be snugly received within the upper ends or mouths of the ice cream can receiving compartments for fluid-tight contact with the surrounding beads and partitions to prevent the loss of the initially low temperature within the compartments.

Figure 7 further illustrates that a lid-48 of material similar to that of the body, is hinged by stitching or other means to the upper edge of one longitudinal side of the bead 44 and is adapted ,to be brought down into overlapping relation with Qthe various plugs 46 tohold the same rmly in place and to cooperate therewith in the estab lishment of the desired closure of the jacket.

The lid 48 is necessarily of elongated form and is provided along one longitudinal edge thereof and across the ends thereof with a row of fas tening devices 50 adapted to cooperate with a second row of fastening devices 52 in securing the lid firmly in the closed position shown in Figures 5 and 6.l More particularly, the upper row of fastening devices 50 is provided with an attaching tape 54 permanently secured to the marginal portion of the lid 48 while the lower row of fastening devices 52 is provided with an attaching tape 56 permanently secured to the bead 44 with thc distance between the tapesl greater when the fastening devices are disengaged than when these fastening devices are interlocked.

By reason of this arrangement, when the fastening devices 50 and 52 are drawn under tension into the interlocking relation as clearly shown in Figures 5 and 6, the attaching tapes 54 and 56 will be tensioned and will thereby draw the marginal portion of the lid 48 down into compressing contact with the bead 44 and this compression of the bead 44 will bring about a more intimate contact between 'the bead and the contiguous portions of the plugs 46.

In further adverting to thisv feature of the invention, attention is invited to the fact that tensioning of the tapes 44 as an incident to the inter-engagement of the members 50 and 52 will cause the fastening devices 50 and 52v to press inward against the bead 44 and bring about a more intimate contact between the bead and the plugs than would otherwise bethe case.

The drawing together and the interlocking of the fastening devices 50 and 52 is accomplished through the medium of a slider 60 that may be easily manipulated by what-is practically a single movement of the hand. A suitable gripping plate 62 may be attached to the slider 60 to facilitate manipulation of the slider.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the invention forming the subject of this application is capable of a variety of mechanical expressions and therefore it is to be understood that the forms of invention herewith shown and described are to be taken merely as preferred examples of the same, and that such minor changes in arrangement and construction of parts may be made as will remain within the spirit of the invention and the scope of what is claimed.

Having thus described my` invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a shipping jacket, a body having a radially and axially compressible upper po'rtion, a lid on the body and having a plug of a size to fit closely within said radially and axially compressible upper portion, a fasteningtape attached to the lid and surrounding said radially and axially compressible upper portion of the body, a second fastening tape permanently attached for substantially the full length thereof to the outer side of the body at a point spaced from the upper extremity thereof in embracing relation to the radially and axially compressible upper portion of the body, and a connector drawing the fastening tapes tightly together and urging the radially and axially compressible upper portion of the body inward from the outer side thereof and upward from the lower portion thereof into pressure contact with said lid and the plug thereof.

2. In a shipping jacket, a body having a radially and axially compressible rim, a lid on the rim idf and having a plug surrounded by the rim, a fastening tape permanently attached for substantially the full length thereof to the outer side of said rim adjacent the lower portion thereof, a second fastening tape attached to said lid, and connecting means drawing the fastening tapes toward each other under tension and being in pressure engagement with said rim between the longitudinal extremities thereof thereby urging the rim directly inward from the outer side thereof into pressure engagement with said plug and drawing the rim upward from the lower portion thereof into firm pressure engagement with the lid.

3. In a shipping jacket for ice cream, an elongated body having spaced partitions defining compartments for the reception of ice cream, the upper portion of the body being formed with a. radially and axially compressible rim, a. lid hinged to said rim and having the marginal portion thereof resting on the rim, said lid being provided with a plug surrounded by said axially and radially compressible rim, a fastening tape permanently attached for substantially the full length thereof to the outer side of the rim adjacent to the lower portion thereof, a second fastening tape attached to said lid, means securing the fastening tapes together under tension and being in pressure engagement with said rim between the longitudinal extremities thereof thereby urging the rim directly inward from the outer side thereof into pressure engagement with said plug, said rst named fastening tape being in closely embracing relation to the lower portion of said rim to hold the rim against outward collapse under the tension of the fastening tapes. 

